Spectacles and glasses protector



Feb; 19, 1946.

- T. J. SOWLE SPECTACLES AND GLASSES PROTECTOR Filed Feb. 21, 1942 Snnentpr (Ittorneg Patented Feb. 19, 1946 This 'invent'ionrlates ti ih rcve'mems mimetectors, andmor paifticiilarly, to a spectacle and glasses protector. ffIhe primaryobje'ct "f the'inven'tion is .to provide a'protectdr adapted ti) be used'by athletes to protect spectaclesa'nd glasses worn by the athlete while playing StreriuQ" games such asbaseballfandbaisketball. r I r Anc'lther objectof-the invention is to provide a protector as above "which will deflect glancing loloi'lvs" from various angles without damaging. the

glasses or jarring the protector from its initial position. V 4 I 3' Another objectbf the invention is to provide a protectorembodying "a' "semi rigid frame com!- posed' of verticalfand hori zontal'guard bars arranged so that the outlines thereof "are -conformati've' to the spectacles frame structure 'an'dwill extend-directly in'iront'oi the spectacles and 16h gitudi'nally thereof and will' allow peripheral vision.

Another object of'theinvention is :m provide a light-weight, compact'head gearfor supporting the guard frame in a forwardly spaced position directly in front of the wearer's eyes which is accomplished by'a three-point suspension be;

tween'thehad gear and'the guard. s p

v Another object of the'invention'is to providea protector which is, fitted to the head and which is comfortable'when worn and requires no adjust ment to' properly position the guardiforwardl'y of.

thespectacles, all* of which is accomplished by providingielastic-gussetsinthe rear of the head gean 'othat the protector'will automatically assume' the correctshape. I i

Anotherobject of; therinvention is to provide a protector including a light-weight head gear'for supporting the guard member over a large supporting area'- extending from a point in front of each-ear over the foreheadand to'provide aguard S pported from these" locations.

'In the'drawing,"

Figure; 1' is a frontelevation of the invention:

showing the position of theuardrelative, to 1 e,

head gear;

Figure 2 s afside elevation illustrating the. roteeter applied to the head and showing the manner which the shardextends in front ofa pair of spect'acles ontheviearer; l. .7 V

Figure 3 is a tppel'evation showingin detail the cross "straps of. the sk'eleton head :gear and the rectangular 'giiardfthr. point suspension; a 3 Figure 4" isf'a' ifragqmnt alrjrear elevation look irigin the direction of'the'arif'owsalong the line Q-i} ofFigiire asiiqwm 'in detail the elastic gasset inthe headigear'b and; p p K 5 s a yertical cross-section talsen along Figure l, the lines. 5+5 of Fig. 2. looking mo e direction of. theparmw'sshowing .the padded construction of the'ha'dr gear.

' Because of efective visidn'many athletes find -it necessary to,.wear"glasse's when engagedin active sports. The invention provide aprotector which" may be 'worn by athletes required to wear glasses and the protector includes a guard mem herfpositioned' in front of the 'spectaclesor :glasses sdtha'fthei'Wearei"s"vision will not be obstructed.

"In general the protector comprises a relatively flexible skeleton head gear having-a head -eneircling band connected by an inserted elastic gusset so that the head gear will, adjust itself to various head irregularities. The head-encircling band is" provided with 'crossstrapsand depending ear pieces to" provide a base of substantial rigidity when applied to'the head. A' chin-strap connects the dependingear pieces to draw the head gear downFsnllglyfonthe head???" rther, the protector ncludes a guardfmembrcomprising' horizontarand vertical guard bars connected to the headgear by a three poihtsuspensiorr toprevent'zthe guard; when struck" a glancing'blovv;fromj'being dislocated.

' ed description 'For the-purpose of *a more detail of theinvention attention is directed to the'drawing wherein therewis shown a .prefe'rredform of thei-nvention and wherein the numeral 5 willlgenerally beemployed to designates. skeleton. head gear; includ inga head-encircling portion 6 h'av-,

ing side" win'g depen'ding portions-1 which extend well along the sides of the head" and are provided with-ear: openings p f In Fig. 2; the skeleton helmet 5 is shownin po sition' for wear ;on a :head as at H an-d the headencirclingiportionfi is shown asengagingand ex tending.idownwardly on the foreheadf F. The openingsaii a llowi' free hearing and circulation of air; around tl1etiear:E.- ?'Also, F-ig-.- 2"i1lus'trates the position; of the 'lspe'ctacle's-S' on the nose of the j Seguredjgo the headr-eng'agingside of the straps- 9 an 1,0 .ivsxa linin i 2,.1of. soft flexible material such as soft leather 'while thestraps Band 10 are formed of a comparatively stiff leather, substantially identical to the material of which the head encircling portion 6 is formed.

An inner lining I3 is applied to the head encircling portion 6 and is formed of a relatively soft, flexible material such as leather and interposed between the head encircling portion 6 and the flexible lining is a resilient pad l4 formed of sponge rubber or similar cushioning material.

The cross straps 9 and ID are stitched along their marginal edge as at l5 and the free ends of the cross strap 9 are interposed between the head encircling portion 6 and lining l3 so that the stitching IS will anchor the same securely in place.

Similarly, the front end of the strap I0 is likewiseanchored between the head encircling portion 6 and lining l3 by a row of stitching l 6 while the rear end of the strap [0 is secured to elastic gussets I! by being stitched thereto as at l8.

The head encircling portion 6 is interrupted in the rear as at I 9, thus forming a small gap which is bridged by means of elastic inserts or gussets H, the ends of which are sandwiched between the head encircling portion 6 and the inner lining l3 so that the same may be held in position by a row of stitches l6 and a. vertical continuation thereof as at 20. The row of stitching is continued along the lower edges of the head encircling portion 6 as at 2| and continues around the depending wing portions 1 as at 22 thence forwardly to the forehead portion as at 23 to securely fasten the lining l3 to the head encircling member 6. Likewise, the marginal edge of the opening 8 in each depending wing 1 is stitched as at 24.

Secured to the extreme forward portion of one of the depending wings I is a chin strap 25 the end of which is passed through a slot 26 and is then return bent so that it may be fastened by a rivet 21 to provide a looped end (Figs. 1 and 3).

The chin strap is passed under the wearers chin and has its end passed through a slot 28 in the opposed depending wing 1 so that the free end may be looped through an adjustingbuckle 29 by attachment to the center bar as at 30 and fastened by a rivet 3|. The end loops 32 of the buckle slidably receive the chin strap whereby the loop extending through the slot 28 may be lengthened or shortened to adjust the chin strap and draw the skeleton helmet downwardly on the wearers head.

Mounted on the forward portion of the skeleton helmet 5 is a guard frame generally designated by the reference character 33 and said guard extendsforwardly and downwardly in front of the spectacles to defend and completely protect the spectacles against accidental blows directed thereon. The guard frame comprise upper and lower horizontal bars 34 and 35 having angular end portions 36 and 31 respectively connected at their ends by slightly curved bars 38. Intermediate the ends of the curved bars 38 there is provided a flattened apertured lug 39 adapted to be fastened to the depending wing of the skeleton helmet by means of an anchoring rivet 40.

Connecting the horizontal bars 34 and 35 and secured in place as by welding, is a series of vertical guard bars 4|, preferably, there is a centralmost bar connecting the intermediate portions of the bars 34 and 35 and a vertical bar for each end connecting the horizontal bars 34 and 35 while vertical bars 4| connect the angled end bars 36 and 31. adjacent the bends thereof. Various arrangements may be provided, and. any number of bars 4| may be used, so long as clear vision of the wearer is not obstructed.

Further, the guard 33 is braced against vertically directed and glancing blows by means of a pair of arcuately curved rearwardly extending bars 42 having their lower ends welded or otherwise secured at their juncture to the top horizontal bar 34 and the opposite ends are connected to a bar 43 parallel with the top frame bar 34.

Formed intermediate the ends of the bar 43 is a lug 44 whichds adaptedto be riveted as at 45 to the forehead portion of the skeleton helmet to anchor the guard at a third point thereby providing a three point suspension system to absorb and dampen shocks transmitted to the skeleton helmet 5.

When the protector is worn while playing strenuous games, the spectacle temple pieces T are engaged for a portion of their length as shown in Fig. 2 which aids in retaining the spectacles in position and holds them in the path of vision by reason of the added supporting surface.

After the protector has thus been positioned on the head, the guard 33 will extend in front of the spectacles S to ward off blows struck in the direction of the spectacles and defend the same against breakage or damage.

Preferably, the vertical guard bars 4! are placed on opposite sides of the spectacle lenses so as to allow the wearer an unobstructed peripheral vision and yet adequately protect the spectacles from damage and the resulting deleterious efiects to the eyes.

A rectangular block or chunk of leather 46 is stitched to the gusset inserts I! to connect the same and to fill the gap between the edges I9 of the head encircling portion 6.

While I have shown and described my invention in detail, it is to be understood that the same is to be limited only by the appended claims, for many changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A spectacles and glasses protector comprising a guard frame, said frame consisting of a pairof relatively straight horizontal bars adapted to extend in front of the spectacles and bent at the ends of the spectacles to extend along the sides thereof, vertical frame bars connecting the horizontal bars at the intermediate and bent portions adapted to be positioned out of the range of vision of the spectacles, and a pair of spaced arcuately bent rearwardly and upwardly extending bar members connected to one of said horizontal bars for supporting the guard frame in front of the spectacles, said arcuate bent members being offset from the center of the guard frame and having means for attachment to a head gear having a head encircling band so that they will extend above the lenses of said spectacles, the bent portions of said straight horizontal bars extending along the sides of said spectacles having means for attachment to the side of said head gear to retain the guard positioned in front of said spectacles.

2. A spectacles and glasses protector for attachment to a headgear, comprising a rectangular guard frame including vertical guard bars for arrangement on opposite sides of the lenses of the spectacles, spaced horizontal frame bars connecting the vertical bars, said horizontal bars being bent to extend in front of and along the sides of the spectacles with their free ends connected to the sides of the head gear, and a central support secured to one of the horizontal bars for connecting the intermediate portion of said rectangular guard to the front of said head gear, said support comprising arcuately bent bar members extending upwardly and rearwardly from the rectangular guard frame to support the guard member in offset relation to the head gear and spectacles and provide guard bars above the lenses of said spectacles, the bent portions of said straight horizontal bars extending along the -sides of said spectacles having means for attachment to the sidevof said head gear to retain the guard positioned in front of said spectacles.

' THEO J. SOWLE. 

